Iraq holds first provincial elections in a decade

Iraqis were voting on Monday in the first provincial council elections in a decade, with the ruling Shi’ite Muslim alliance likely to extend its grip on power amid a boycott by populist cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, its main political rival.

The vote is seen as a test of Iraq’s young democracy – installed by the U.S. after the toppling of Saddam Hussein in 2003 – before 2025 parliamentary polls that will determine the balance of power in a nation where groups close to Iran have gained influence in recent years.Voter apathy has been on the rise among a mostly young population that feels it has not seen the benefits of Iraq’s massive oil wealth, much of which is misdirected or stolen in a country ranked among the world’s most corrupt.Senior politicians called for a high turnout after casting their votes at a plush centre set up for top officials at one of Baghdad’s best hotels.More than 16 million Iraqis registered to vote on Monday, fewer than in 2021’s parliamentary polls, when authorities said 22 million were eligible. Turnout then was 41% of eligible voters.

via Reuters